In the end, I wasn’t woken up in the middle of the night and woke up a little later than usual. Throwing on a gown over my clothes, I headed toward the kitchen.

I could have had my meal brought to my room, but it seemed there were many visitors today, making the mansion rather busy.

Seriana and the others weren’t in the adjacent room either, so they were probably in Liesel’s office.

There hadn’t been any monster attacks yet, but there were likely preparations being made.

As I walked down the hallway, I greeted the passing servants and soon arrived at the kitchen.

Unlike the rest of the mansion, this place seemed as peaceful as ever.

Maybe it was just the time of day?

Well, whatever. I called out as I stepped inside.

“Good morning! I’m here for breakfast.”

“Oh. Do you want breakfast or lunch?”

The head chef, who was taking a short break, turned to me and asked.

Right now… it was a little past noon.

But since I just woke up…

“I’ll have breakfast.”

Judging by the aroma in the kitchen, lunch seemed a bit too heavy for me, so I opted for breakfast instead.

“Alright. You’ll eat here, right? There are a lot of guests today. It’s not just the master; other people are entertaining them too, so the rooms are all occupied.”

With that, he got up to prepare my meal without waiting for my reply.

As if to fill his place, another cook sat down in the empty seat and spoke to me.

“Hey… is something going to happen? There were more guards than usual on the way to the mansion today… and I heard a lot of the visiting merchants were bringing along armed adventurers… Plus, Lord Alexio left town with his soldiers yesterday, right?”

It wasn’t just him—others in the kitchen, overhearing his words, paused their work, looking at me with uneasy expressions.

From the state of the mansion, they must have sensed that something was off… but it seemed like the matter of the attack was still being kept under wraps at the higher levels.

Which meant I probably shouldn’t be casually talking about it here.

“Hmm… if there’s anything important to announce, the master will tell you himself. Besides, even though Alex left the city, Jig and the commander are still here, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

I didn’t mention them by name, but Fiora and Teresa were also around, making the capital’s defenses more than sufficient.

Even so, the staff here still seemed uneasy.

This city was practically at the doorstep of the demon-infested lands, so I thought they would be more accustomed to the threat of monsters…

Then again, about half of the people working in this mansion came from other regions, so maybe that explained their reaction.

Thinking about it that way, I could understand their distress, though the city already had a protective barrier in place…

Perhaps the citizens of Arios felt the same way.

Sending Alex there was probably the right decision… But still, he sure was popular.

“Hey!”

As I was pondering all this, ignoring the lingering stares of the uneasy kitchen staff, the head chef returned with my breakfast.

With a single commanding word, the other cooks scrambled back to their stations.

They were well-trained…

“Chef, are you from this city?”

I asked as he placed a plate of food in front of me.

If his subordinates could sense that something was off, then he should have noticed it too.

Yet, he didn’t seem the least bit fazed.

Maybe he was born here and had gotten used to monsters?

“Nope.”

That was his only response.

So, he wasn’t from here…

And yet, he was this composed.

Maybe having nerves of steel was a prerequisite for rising to the top.

“I’m from the neighboring city. But I originally cooked for Lord Arios’s unit. If you know that, then you should understand.”

“…Ah.”

That made perfect sense.

Arios was the city my grandfather had used as his base of operations.

If this guy was born there and had worked under my grandfather… then he must be plenty used to rough situations.

◇

“Princess.”

Just as I finished my breakfast and was sipping on some tea, Teresa entered the kitchen.

The kitchen staff, who were usually relaxed around me, straightened up immediately—even the head chef stood at attention.

“Have you finished your meal?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s head to the master’s office. Lady Seria is waiting for you.”

“…Is there something I need to do?”

Seriana was waiting… Was this another errand for me?

But I was still in my sleepwear, you know?

However, Teresa shook her head.

“No, nothing like that. You may stay as you are, but today, you will be waiting in the master’s office. Sir Zighart and Lady Fiora will be there as well.”

“Oh…”

So they wanted us all gathered in one place.

“Got it. Well then, Chef, thanks for the meal.”

“Sure. Try waking up in time for breakfast next time.”

“…Yeah, yeah. Teresa, let’s go.”

Dodging the chef’s remark, I hopped onto my 【Floating Orb】 and followed Teresa out of the kitchen.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】・15 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・33 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards